Scarlett’s lawsuit is a write-off

US actress Scarlett Johansson won a lawsuit Wednesday in France against a French writer whom she accused of misappropriating her image by drawing on her persona for a character in his latest novel.

The French writer, Gregoire Delacourt, and his publishing company were ordered to pay the 29-year old actress 2,500 euros in damages. She had sought 50,000 euros.

The novel La premiere chose qu'on regarde (The First Thing You Look At) features a small-time French model whose life is governed by the fact that she is a dead ringer for Johansson.

Johansso'sn attorney Vincent Toledano told a Paris court in May that the novel violated Johansson's image by using her name and fame without her consent and making false allegations about her private life. In the novel, a main character has an affair with a figure that allegedly resembles Canadian actor Ryan Gosling.

Published in March 2013 by JC Lattes, the novel has sold about 100,000 copies.

The judgment took into account that the novel only sold 100,000 copies and that Johansson has publicly talked about her private life. – Sapa-dpa